A 1930’s tax system in a 21st century economy: Over the last 20 years, revenues as a share of Washington state’s economy have declined by 30 percent. In large part that is because, when our tax system was put into law during the 1930’s, the economy was mostly driven by agriculture and the production and sale of manufactured goods. At the time, a sales tax on goods reflected most consumer activity. Over time, however, Washington state’s economy – like the rest of the nation – shifted away from manufacturing toward being a primarily service-based economy. Consumers have been spending more on untaxed services than manufactured goods since the 1970s, but there has been no significant corresponding shift to the tax code (figure). Without reforms that reflect this and other changes in the economy, our revenue system will fall ever farther behind, starving the state of resources needed to support public investments in opportunities and jobs.

Upside-down system making income inequality worse: To make matters worse, our revenue system is “upside-down,” which means low- to middle-income families pay a far greater share of their incomes to support our state investments (17 percent and 11 percent, respectively) compared to wealthy families (5 percent) (figure). Generating revenue through a tax system that places the responsibility on those who are least able to contribute is not only unjust, it doesn’t make economic sense. Substantial economic activity among wealthy families is not included. In addition, this flawed system increases income inequality by giving a big break to the highest income earners, while low- to middle-income families reap little reward from the economic activity they help generate (same figure).

To find out what policymakers can do to build a just and prosperous future for all Washingtonians, read the full brief.

Watch the Budget Matters Plenary

View the Budget Matters 2016 conference plenary panel, "What's at Stake in the 2017-2019 Budget: Funding McCleary and Beyond," on TVW. Moderated by Ann Dornfeld of KUOW with a budget overview by our own Andy Nicholas, the panel features Nathan Gibbs-Bowling, the 2016 Washington State Teacher of the Year; Lew Moore of the Washington Research Council; Roxana Norouzi of OneAmerica; and Sen. Christine Rolfes. The plenary starts after a brief intro by Executive Director Misha Werschkul and an intro video by Gov. Inslee.

Our Legislative Agenda

Our agenda for the 2015-2017 biennium calls for an equitable, sustainable revenue system in addition to state investments that: promote a world-class education system; sustain a strong middle class; produce living-wage jobs, and ensure that all Washingtonians have equal opportunity to get ahead.

Testimonies in Olympia

We testified in support of a number of important bills during the 2016 legislative session. Take a look:

Our testimony (at the 23:23 minute mark) on the House Bill that would take a two-generation approach to preventing poverty

Our testimony (at the 1:54:09 mark) on the House bill focused on aerospace-related tax breaks